Blog: FCP X and it's launch: Blunder or Genius?

In light of all the NAB announcements regarding editing, I have to ask - "WHY is it going to take time for FCPX to mature?" Apple is the biggest richest company in the world. I have to figure they've been at this piece of software for 2-3 years. They had 10 years of making FCP 1-7, Motion, etc. They own the code base for shake. They have logic. They can hire anyone they need. Why is it in the same 2 years Avid and Premiere can reinvent themselves? Adobe seems to be able crank out a limitless amount of software to fit every niche and need in nothing flat. Smoke has been completely revisualized to be simpler and more powerful. Blackmagic is advancing DaVinci as fast as anyone can and just reinvented the camera market.

And somehow we're all here getting excited over a forthcoming viewer window and some multitrack audio capabilities whilst discussing workarounds to basic media mgmt and how to make a proper j or l cut in only 5 steps. Does it even have a drop shadow effect yet or did Steve Jobs decide drop shadows were obsolete?

Why do we cut X such slack? Cuz skimming is fun. It's addictive. But maybe it's time to get over it and realize Apple didn't cause this storm of new advanced NLEs by stepping down. Perhaps they saw the storm coming and decided to step out of the race and create a new race. A new category in which they are the only entrant. Software that is powerful enough to keep some of its base while being cheap and simple enough to be the only real choice for the masses that are on a Mac. And, of course, you have to buy a Mac to use it. Apple doesn't want the high end market. There's too much competition. They may have purposely calculated their screwed up launch to throw Avid and Adobe off the trail of the new market segment they cared about. Now they have the segment all to themselves while the rest are fighting to conquer the high end. I'm sure Avid, Adobe, Autodesk, and even Blackbagic are throwing everything at development and nobody knows what to put in their boutiques next. But the consumers, the prosumers, the basement companies, the corporate video depts, and all the web video enthusiasts have to decide if they want to get a $3000 package from Avid, Adobe, or Autodesk, or if FCP is "good enough for now." Hell, it's cheap enough that most of us have broken down and bought it out of curiosity. In the meantime, I think Apple is throwing meager resources at it compared to other companies specializing in edit software. Theyre treating it as a upscale hobby, listening to the users, and seeing where it goes. Genius really. They're not competing with Avid, Adobe, or Autodesk. Their biggest competition is FCP 7. And they promptly took that app out of the running when FCP X was released.